Frequently Asked Questions

How do you implement the Aire Serv® Systems in an existing heating and cooling company?

Aire Serv's independent franchise owners are made up of a wide variety of companies. Some are large, well established companies - up to 100 years old. Others are small start ups ready to grow from the ground up. In both cases there was something missing in the business or their life.

The implementation of the Aire Serv® franchise system is customized in some respects to the uniqueness of each company’s opportunities, challenges, strengths, weaknesses and geographical differences. The end target is the same but the starting point could be a little different in each company. Being in any business can be tough. Many heating and cooling contractors started in this business as technicians, learning how to repair, replace and install heating and cooling equipment. The "business" side of the business is often learned by trial and error.

Our Franchise Systems Manager (the FSM, your personal coach) starts by analyzing where you currently are in your business. You spend one week in our initial training program, covering an overview of our systems and developing a business plan that includes financial, advertising, manpower and activities requirements required to get you up and running with the franchise systems. After training, our FSM works with you to complete your activities and conducts a training visit to your office.

The goal of our Systems is to allow you to teach your team how to perform their tasks the same way, every time, producing consistent results for you and your customers. Once your team understands the systems and their responsibility, you manage the systems - not people - to manage the company. One of our franchise owners made a comment that said it best "My wife said Aire Serv® gave me the "business degree" that I never had".

What if I have no technical knowledge of the industry – can I own an Aire Serv® franchise?

Many people think that only a person who knows the technical side of the business can run a business as technical as a heating, cooling and indoor air quality company. Actually - some heating and cooling contractors that have come up in the industry may have developed some bad habits, caused by what they have experienced working for others or being in business for themselves. Aire Serv® has many franchise owners that were previously technicians learning the business side of the business.

If you are not from the heating and cooling industry, don't let that stop you from considering an Aire Serv® franchise. This industry is still very fragmented, which creates a tremendous opportunity for anyone wanting to be in business for themselves.

When you learn how to run a business and manage people, you can run many types of companies. There are many heating and cooling companies available for sale because the existing owner does not know how to make it work.

Many of our existing Aire Serv® franchisees have acquired some of their competitor's businesses. Some have acquired a business for the sole purpose of starting an Aire Serv® franchise.

I've heard stories of how you totally lose control of your company when you join a franchise, is that true?

Every one of Aire Serv's franchisees is the independent owner of their own business. Aire Serv® provides a system for them to operate their business by, and assigns a personal “coach” to help them implement these systems.

We do not own or control their business; we simply provide a proven and logical way to run a cooling, heating and indoor air quality company and help them put it in action. The independent company owner still controls the day to day operations and decisions in their business.

What is the difference between a franchise and an association?

Most associations offer a seminar format to teach you a variety of business topics from many different sources. Some of these trainers compete or even conflict with each other. Aire Serv® offers specific systems that complement each other and are part of an integrated system. Whether it is generating the business, selling the calls, installing the products, or tracking productivity, each of our systems supports the other.

Our national brand building is also something you won't find with an association. Building a brand is much easier in the franchise network where everyone focuses on the the same image and message.

We have personal coaches that help you implement these processes into your business, instead of letting you try to figure it out yourself. As one franchise owner put it: "The associations give you all of the pieces of the puzzle, Aire Serv® gives you that puzzle already assembled in a useable format."

Why is running a business so difficult? I am excellent at the technical side of the business, but I can't seem to find other people like me.

Being great at the technical end of the business doesn't automatically qualify you for running a company that performs this type of work. Don’t assume that if you are a great technician, you have the skills to build a great business. On the contrary, some of the best heating and cooling business owners are not technical.

If you can't perform the work yourself, you have to manage other people to get the work done for you. A person who can hire, train, motivate, and manage other individuals well can build an organization through the efforts of other people. A person who can only do the work will never grow beyond his own skills. They need a system to help them accomplish this.

There is hope for people who started out as technicians to achieve the desired results. Your business must run on proven systems as if it were to be duplicated 100 times in multiple locations. When you accomplish this, you will have a company that will run on processes and systems, not on the skills of individual people. Then you simply hire people and teach them the systems, and manage the systems – not the people.

Aire Serv® has developed the systems exclusively for use by cooling, heating, and indoor air quality companies that have been proven over and over again.

How do I get the customer to pay a fair price? They already complain about the prices I charge.

Aire Serv® has a step-by-step system called "The World Class Frontline Service Cycle" that is a predefined process for every interaction any person in your company has with a customer.

It's not about raising the price; it's about increasing the value you deliver to the customer - perceived and real.

The entire process is detailed and scripted, starting with the incoming phone call and the information that is gathered from the caller. The information that is given to the technician is specific, with exact expectations of what the technician's opportunity is. The technician has a diagnostic, analysis, and recommendation procedure to follow to produce the desired results. Results are then relayed and recorded back to the dispatcher. A follow up cheerleader call is made to the customer immediately to insure the highest level of customer satisfaction, and another is made later to make sure all recommendations have been completed. Even the Aire Serv® invoice and our menu pricing guide are designed as a part of the system to deliver the desired result.

Our processes are designed to produce a consistent customer experience, a specific result, and to reduce variation.

I don't really feel comfortable doing sales, or I don't like being in situations where I feel like a used car salesperson. That's why I can't sell more replacement systems.

Customers buy from people they like and trust.

They also buy from people who understand and can solve their problems. What most companies don't realize is that customers don't normally tell you the real reasons they called you or the true problems they are having. Customers do this to defend themselves against salespeople.

Aire Serv® has a step-by-step procedure called The 3rd Millennium (M3) Sales System^TM that is scripted for the entire sales process - one that is very up front, open, and requires no high pressure sales tactics. Don't make the same mistake most HVAC companies do which is to sell around the features of a specific brand - this will result in getting you the job only if the customer likes you better, or your price is the lowest. You must know all of the hidden concerns of the customer, plus uncover and amplify concerns the customer didn't realize you could solve. Our system lets you know what the customer's issues (problems) are, who the decision makers are and how they decide, how they are paying for the system, how much they will pay, when they are buying - all before you ever give them a price or solve any of their problems. This shortens the time you have to spend with "unqualified" prospects, and allows your customer to buy the system and accessories that will solve their problems, all in one trip to the home. The system is so unconventional; the customer frequently thanks the salesperson for not "pressuring" them while signing the agreement.

The sales process is designed to give management a system to manage the salesperson, uncover any problem areas that may exist with the salesperson, and provide suggestions for improvement.

The system includes M3 Customized Pricing for each company, with most of the details and options you need to price residential jobs immediately. The system is backed up by a detailed time allotment for the job, letting your technicians know what the expectation is for getting the job done.

How do I determine a selling price for my service and replacement work?

Consideration must be given to competition and other factors when determining price.

Aire Serv® uses an exclusive business planning module called the BenchMark Business Planning System^TM. This Excel workbook lets you create a financial, advertising and manpower plan, and gives you a list of activities to manage it.

Once the individual company's numbers are entered into the planning system, it determines the appropriate rates for pricing the work, based on accomplishing the budgeted numbers. The planning system is filled out during basic training, and an advanced session is conducted annually to assist everyone in completing their business plan for the coming year. It is important to note, however, that although we provide the tools to help you set the price that is appropriate for you and your business, ultimately you decide the price you would like to charge.

What are the differences between franchises and consolidators?

A "consolidator" is a term that might be used for several different types of business arrangements. In our experience we have seen that a consolidator often buys a business from the independent HVAC company owner and rolls it into a large corporation. Sometimes there is cash in the purchase price and sometimes it is stock in the parent company. Unfortunately in some cases in the past, the value of the stock dropped to pennies on the dollar. A company owner usually starts a business because they want to be independent. In the case of consolidation, these entrepreneurs give up total control of their business. Selling to a consolidator is the ultimate loss of control. Even though many of the consolidators have faded away, they will probably always be around, and will ultimately grow again.

Aire Serv's strength is its direction of growing independently owned and operated franchise locations. We have exact processes and procedures to accomplish what an HVAC contractor wants in their business, and we work one on one through our coaching support system to help company owners put the systems in place.

We have found that keeping control in the owner's hands, while giving them repeated training and ongoing support in our proven systems, will provide the best combination of motivation and results. Others have seen the logic of Aire Serv's 10 years of experience in the franchise format, and are copying our business model.

I am concerned with the implementation of the systems. I have tried a consultant or attended a training class, but nothing stuck. How do I motivate people to follow through on the Aire Serv® programs?

Most business people have tried to implement a new procedure, process, or system in a business. Sometimes it doesn't work because employees fight it. Sometimes it doesn't work because people don't understand it. Sometimes people get busy and the old habits take over again.

Most of us have habits or routines that are giving us the results that we currently have. Your employees are exactly the same way. The reason why most people attend a seminar and can never get the ideas implemented is because they have a one-time interaction with the trainers. When they try to implement the program they can't get answers to all of the obstacles that are thrown in the way. It takes 28 days to form a new habit. If you have a meeting with your people once a month to implement something, chances are slim to none that it will actually happen. If you have consistent feedback and follow-up through meetings, tracking, and other reinforcement methods the results will improve dramatically. To motivate your team, recognize the results you are trying to get as often as possible, and not always with money.

Have you ever hired an inexperienced, eager technician who did not know much, but made up for it with enthusiasm? Let's say he starts at $15 per hour, and has a goal of reaching $25. He comes in early, works late, takes weekend calls and out-performs the more experienced technicians. Then, one day in the future, he finally arrives at that goal of $25. He stops coming early, doesn't want that late call, and suddenly seems to have lost that enthusiasm that made him a top performer.

You must remember that you cannot motivate people; you can only provide the environment for them to motivate themselves. Aire Serv® offers the opportunity for a person to be part of something BIG. It offers recognition for performance on an international level. It allows a technician who is the best in the company to now be stretched to be the best in the world.